The invention relates to an inerting device for a pressurized aircraft fuel tank, i.e. for a tank provided with a main vessel and a separate overflow space, the device including a generator of nitrogen-enriched gas, a circuit for transferring the nitrogen-enriched gas produced by the generator, the transfer circuit including an upstream end connected to the generator, a first downstream end which can be coupled to the main vessel and a second downstream end which can be coupled to the overflow space, the device including a sensor array for measuring information representative of a pressure differential between the interior of the overflow space and the exterior of the tank, the device further including an electronic logic unit receiving the measurements from the sensor array, the electronic logic unit being connected to the generator and/or to the transfer circuit, and being designed to control the supply of a nitrogen-enriched gas flow to the second downstream end when the pressure differential drops below a predetermined threshold S.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. An aircraft fuel tank of the pressurized type, comprising: a main vessel intended to store liquid fuel; a separate overflow space, the overflow space being fluidly connected to the main vessel in order to absorb temporarily, but without retaining, any overflows of liquid fuel from the main vessel, the overflow space communicating with an exterior of the tank via first and second non-return valves, the first non-return valve only allowing a flow of gas from the overflow space to an exterior of the tank and being calibrated to open only when a pressure of the overflow space is greater than a pressure of the exterior of the tank by a predetermined value associated with the first non-return valve, the second non-return valve only allowing a flow of gas from the exterior of the tank to the overflow space and being calibrated to open only when the pressure of the exterior of the tank is greater than the pressure of the overflow space by a predetermined value associated with the second non-return valve; and an inerting device for a aircraft fuel tank of the pressurized type that is provided with a main vessel and with a separate overflow space, said inerting device comprising: a nitrogen-enriched gas generator; a circuit for transferring the nitrogen-enriched gas produced by the generator, the transfer circuit comprising an upstream extremity connected to the generator, a first downstream extremity which can be coupled to the main vessel and a second downstream extremity which can be coupled to the overflow space; an array of sensors for measuring a pressure differential between a pressure of an interior of the overflow space and a pressure of an exterior of the tank; and an electronic logic unit for receiving the measured pressure differential from the array of sensors, the electronic logic unit being connected to the generator and/or to the transfer circuit, the electronic logic unit being designed to control a supply of a flow of the nitrogen-enriched gas to the second downstream extremity when the pressure differential is less than a predetermined threshold S, the first downstream extremity of the transfer circuit being coupled to the main vessel and the second downstream extremity of the transfer circuit being coupled to the overflow space, the electronic logic unit being designed to control the supply of a flow of nitrogen-enriched gas to the overflow space via the second downstream extremity when the pressure of the exterior of the tank is greater than a pressure of the overflow space by at least 70% of the predetermined value associated with the second non-return valve.
2. The aircraft fuel tank of claim 1 , wherein the electronic logic unit is designed to supply the flow of nitrogen-enriched gas to the second downstream extremity only when the pressure differential falls below the predetermined threshold.
3. The aircraft fuel tank of claim 1 , wherein the first downstream extremity of the transfer circuit comprises a first control valve for the selective control of the flow of nitrogen-enriched gas intended to be supplied to the main vessel, said first valve being operated by the electronic logic unit.
4. The aircraft fuel tank of claim 1 , wherein the second downstream extremity of the transfer circuit comprises a second control valve for the selective control of the flow of nitrogen-enriched gas intended to be supplied to the overflow space, said second valve being operated by the electronic logic unit.
5. The aircraft fuel tank of claim 1 , wherein the first and second downstream extremities of the circuit are coupled in parallel to the upstream extremity of the circuit, the circuit further comprising a three-way valve for selective regulation of flows of nitrogen-enriched gas originating from the generator to the first and the second downstream extremities, the three-way valve being operated by the electronic logic unit.
6. The aircraft fuel tank of claim 1 , wherein the generator comprising a gas separation membrane.
7. The tank of claim 1 , wherein the electronic logic unit is designed to control the supply of the flow of nitrogen-enriched gas to the overflow space via the second downstream extremity when the pressure differential PA−P 3 between the pressure of the exterior of the tank PA and the overflow space P 3 : approaches 50 mbar, or reaches the predetermined value that is associated with the second non-return valve.
8. The tank of claim 1 , wherein the electronic logic unit is designed to control the supply of a flow of nitrogen-enriched gas to the overflow space via the second downstream extremity when the pressure of the exterior of the tank is greater than a pressure of the overflow space by at least 70% of the predetermined value associated with the first non-return valve.
9. The tank of claim 1 , wherein the array of sensors comprises at least one pressure sensor.
10. An aircraft comprising a fuel tank of claim 1 , wherein the array of sensors comprises at least one of the following: a sensor for the differential pressure, a couple of pressure sensors, a sensor for the altitude of the aircraft, a sensor for the atmospheric pressure around the aircraft, a sensor for the atmospheric temperature around the aircraft, a sensor for the rate of descent of the aircraft, a sensor for the fuel consumption of the aircraft, a sensor for the pressure of the inlet air supplying the generator for the purpose of its enrichment with nitrogen, a sensor for the temperature of the inlet air supplying the generator for the purpose of its enrichment with nitrogen, a sensor for the flow of nitrogen-enriched gas at the outlet from the generator, a sensor for the concentration of oxygen/nitrogen in the flow of nitrogen-enriched gas at the outlet from the generator, a sensor for the flow of nitrogen-enriched gas at the outlet from a buffer tank for storing the nitrogen-enriched gas produced by the generator, a sensor for the concentration of oxygen/nitrogen in the flow of nitrogen-enriched gas at the outlet from a buffer tank for storing the nitrogen-enriched gas produced by the generator.
11. A method for inerting the fuel tank of the aircraft of claim 10 , comprising the steps of: determining, with the electronic logic unit, the pressure differential between a pressure of an interior of the overflow space and a pressure of an exterior of the tank, and when the pressure differential falls below a predetermined threshold S, allowing a flow of nitrogen-enriched gas from the generator into the overflow space via the second extremity.
12. A method for inerting a fuel tank of an aircraft, comprising the steps of: providing an aircraft; determining, with an electronic logic unit, the pressure differential between a pressure of an interior of a separate overflow space of the fuel tank and a pressure of an exterior of the tank; and when the pressure differential falls below a predetermined threshold S, allowing a flow of nitrogen-enriched gas from nitrogen-enriched gas generator into the overflow space via a second extremity, the aircraft comprising an aircraft fuel tank of the pressurized type, the electronic logic unit allowing the flow of nitrogen-enriched gas to the overflow space from the generator when the pressure of the exterior of the tank is greater than a pressure of the overflow space by at least 70% of a predetermined value associated with a second non-return valve, wherein the aircraft fuel tank comprises: a main vessel intended to store liquid fuel; the separate overflow space, the overflow space being fluidly connected to the main vessel in order to absorb temporarily, but without retaining, any overflows of liquid fuel from the main vessel, the overflow space communicating with an exterior of the tank via a first non-return valves and the second non-return valve, the first non-return valve only allowing a flow of gas from the overflow space to an exterior of the tank and being calibrated to open only when a pressure of the overflow space is greater than a pressure of the exterior of the tank by a predetermined value associated with the first non-return valve, the second non-return valve only allowing a flow of gas from the exterior of the tank to the overflow space and being calibrated to open only when the pressure of the exterior of the tank is greater than the pressure of the overflow space by the predetermined value associated with the second non-return valve; and an inerting device for a aircraft fuel tank of the pressurized type that is provided with a main vessel and with a separate overflow space, said inerting device comprising: the nitrogen-enriched gas generator; a circuit for transferring the nitrogen-enriched gas produced by the generator, the transfer circuit comprising an upstream extremity connected to the generator, a first downstream extremity which can be coupled to the main vessel and the second downstream extremity, the second downstream extremity which can be coupled to the overflow space; an array of sensors for measuring a pressure differential between a pressure of an interior of the overflow space and a pressure of an exterior of the tank, the array of sensors comprising at least one of the following: a sensor for the differential pressure, a couple of pressure sensors, a sensor for the altitude of the aircraft, a sensor for the atmospheric pressure around the aircraft, a sensor for the atmospheric temperature around the aircraft, a sensor for the rate of descent of the aircraft, a sensor for the fuel consumption of the aircraft, a sensor for the pressure of the inlet air supplying the generator for the purpose of its enrichment with nitrogen, a sensor for the temperature of the inlet air supplying the generator for the purpose of its enrichment with nitrogen, a sensor for the flow of nitrogen-enriched gas at the outlet from the generator, a sensor for the concentration of oxygen/nitrogen in the flow of nitrogen-enriched gas at the outlet from the generator, a sensor for the flow of nitrogen-enriched gas at the outlet from a buffer tank for storing the nitrogen-enriched gas produced by the generator, and a sensor for the concentration of oxygen/nitrogen in the flow of nitrogen-enriched as at the outlet from a buffer tank for storing the nitrogen-enriched gas produced by the generator; and the electronic logic unit for receiving the measured pressure differential from the array of sensors, the electronic logic unit being connected to the generator and/or to the transfer circuit, the electronic logic unit being designed to control a supply of the flow of the nitrogen-enriched gas to the second downstream extremity when the pressure differential is less than a predetermined threshold S, the first downstream extremity of the transfer circuit being coupled to the main vessel and the second downstream extremity of the transfer circuit being coupled to the overflow space.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the electronic logic unit allows the flow of nitrogen-enriched gas to the overflow space from the generator when the pressure differential PA−P 3 between the pressure of the exterior of the tank PA and the overflow space P 3 : approaches 50 mbar, or reaches the predetermined value that is associated with the second non-return valve.
14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the electronic logic unit allows the flow of nitrogen-enriched gas to the overflow space from the generator when the pressure of the exterior of the tank is greater than a pressure of the overflow space by at least 70% of the predetermined value associated with the first non-return valve.
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January 25, 2013
December 6, 2016
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